162 WILD FLOWERS OF THE BRITISH ISLES 
(9) Lax-flowered Orchid. (Orchis laxiflora.) — Like last but with rich red flowers ; 
leaves not spotted ; bracts broad 3-5-veined. 
(10) Crimson Marsh-Orchid. (Orchis incarnata.) — Flowers not hooded, 3 upper lobes 
arched ; lip slightly lobed ; leaves hooded at apex ; tubers lobed. 
(11) Spotted Orchid. (Orchis maculata.) — Flowers not hooded, 3 upper lobes arched; 
lip with central lobe longer and narrower than side ones ; spur shorter than seedcase ; 
tubers lobed. 
(12) Orchis ericetorum. — Like species 11, but with the central lobe of the lip shorter and 
narrower than the side ones. 
(13) Broad-leaved Marsh-Orchid. (Orchis latifolia.) — Like species n, but with purple-rose 
flowers with thick blunt spurs. 
1. Lizard Orchid. (Or'chis hircina. Crantz.) — As just described. The flowers are 
large and numerous, in a rather loose spike, and have a very disagreeable odour ; the bract at the 
base of each flower is longer than the seedcase ; the 5 similar perianth-lobes are green tinged 
with purplish-red ; the lip (labellum) is strap-shaped, and has 3 ribbon-like lobes which are 
spirally coiled in bud, with the middle lobe very long and twisted ; the whole lip is r J inches or 
more long, and has a very short blunt spur at the base ; it is of a greenish-white colour spotted 
with purplish-red ; the 2 stalked pollen-masses are attached to a common gland in the pouch of the 
rostellum ; the stem is tall and stout, 1-3 feet high, and leafy, with broadly oblong leaves ; and the 
tubers are undivided and roundish. [ Plate 52. 
Very rare. In bushy places on chalk hills in Kent, Surrey, and Suffolk. May — July. Perennial. 
2. Pyramidal Orchid. (Or chis pyramiddlis. Linn.)— This species has flowers of a 
deep rich rose-colour in a dense pyramidal spike, 1-3 inches long ; the bracts are coloured, 
3-veined, and about the same length as the seedcase ; the 5 similar perianth-lobes are lance- 
shaped, and the lip (labellum) is lobed into 3 oblong, nearly equal segments, with 2 short blunt 
teeth at the base, protecting the opening to the spur ; the spur is very long and slender, longer 
than the seedcase ; the 2 stalked pollen-masses are attached to a common gland in the pouch of 
the rostellum. [As described in the genus Orchis.] The stem is 1-2 feet high, slender, and with 
narrow, lance-shaped, pointed leaves arising chiefly from the root, which is a roundish undivided 
tuber. \Plate 52. 
Not uncommon. On downs, banks, and pastures, on chalk or limestone; common in England 
in such districts ; very rare in Scotland, and then only in southern Scotland, where it occurs in two 
or three localities ; not uncommon in Ireland. July — August. Perennial. 
3 . Dwarf Dark-winged Orchid. (Or'chis ustul&ta. Linn.)— A small plant with 
numerous small flowers, of a red-purple and white, in a dense oblong spike ; the bracts are half as 
long as the seedcases ; the 5 similar perianth-lobes form a hood over the column and are of a dark 
red-purple at first, but become paler as the flower opens and are white before they fade, so, as the 
lowermost flowers open first, the spike is nearly white below and of a dark red-purple above, 
giving the cluster a strange appearance, which has been likened to that of a burnt stick, and 
accounts for its scientific name ; the lip is white dotted with purple, deeply 3-lobed with the central 
lobe larger and 2 -lobed and with a small tooth between the 2 lobes, and the base is prolonged into 
a very short spur, about \ as long as the seedcase ; the 2 pollen-masses are stalked and each 
attached to a separate gland, both glands being contained in the pouch of the rostellum. [As 
described in the genus Orchis.] The stem is seldom more than 6-8 inches high, and has few 
leaves, which are oblong and pointed ; the roots are undivided. [Plate 52. 
